The New DADA Teacher
by tragic-girl6x
Summary: The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is a slightly excentric American woman. And she seems to know an awful lot about Snape. He wonders if she could be a mysterious girl from his past, and if they're on the same side.


Yet another year at Hogwarts. Severes Snape sat alone in the gloom of his dungeon sleeping quarters. There were no windows in the dank room. Candles placed here and there was the only light that illuminated his features. A few by his bed, others by the bathroom door, still others floating aimlessly mid-air. The sound of laughing teens and children reached his ears. He could hear them jumping on the ground from the horseless carriages through the walls. He had to get up and leave his only sanctuary to greet the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher before taking his place at the head table in the Great Hall. Every year for the better half of a decade now there hadn't been a teacher that had filled the position for more than a year. Dumbledor had briefly mentioned that the new professor was from America. **Great.** He thought. **Now we're importing teachers...** He forced himself from his seat, crossed the room, and opened the door. The door closed behind him automatically switching on charms and magically hidden locks to prevent anyone except him from entering. The candles also were snuffed out as he left, the floating ones dropping onto the floor.  
  
His footsteps echoed as he walked the solitary halls beneath the castle. The pounding sounds of footsteps came from above him but the first years had not yet arrived, he still had time to learn the new professor's name before they did. He sincerely hoped that this new man wouldn't be a complete idiot or a traitor. He had quite enough of those types and felt that if he had to deal with one more of them within the school he was simply going to poison himself. He had enough to worry about.   
  
Up the stone steps, through corridor after corridor. In just a few moments he found himself at the doors to the Main Hall. Entering his eyes made a quick count of his fellow employees. Then he stopped, both in thought and stride. There sitting next to his seat, was what he could only describe as the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. She had soft pale skin and auburn colored hair that was so wavy it was almost curled. Her eyes darted to his and he noticed they were a deep dark shade of blue that made them appear black. As their eyes met it seemed that swords clashed and Severes began to search her mind for secrets and thoughts, just as he knew she was searching him. After but a brief second she blinked and gave him a dazzling smile and winked at him as if they shared some joke. Severes was left slightly dumbstruck. She was most definitely not what he had expected. He continued toward the table and studied her further. Her attire was strange. Instead of witch's robes she wore a plain indigo blue peasant top and an elegant flowing black skirt. The ensemble was completed with black boots with zippers on the sides, dangly cross earings, and a small emerald pendent on a silver chain.   
  
Dumbledor came up to him right when he was opening his mouth to speak to her.  
  
"Severes! Good thing your just in time. Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher arrived a few minutes ago. This is Alathea Stephens." Dumbldor introduced her and she rose and stuck out her hand with her hair billowing behind her. Snape shook it once and let go. Her bright smile slipped but literally shrugged it off.  
  
"Thank you Albus!" She said it cheerfully enough but something in her tone made it clear that she wanted Albus to leave. He took the hint with grace and wandered off. As soon as he'd gone 2 steps in the opposite direction she turned to Severes.   
  
"Well, I've been waiting long enough! Where were you?" By her tone one would have thought that Alathea and Severes had known each other all their lives. But they hadn't known each other all their lives and Severes did not appreciate her speaking to him so familiarly....That would stop soon.  
  
"Professor Stephens, I'm not sure how you know about me, but you will not speak to me like that." His voice was low so that only she could hear him. He watched with enjoyment how her dark eyes widened in surprise and her face flushed. His enjoyment was short lived, however.  
  
"How ... *dare* you!?" Her eyes flashed in anger. "I happen to have been waiting to meet you for a good long time. You could at least say 'hello'!" Alathea, unlike Severes, did not bother keeping her voice low in the slightest. In fact it rose with every word and after the few sentences she spoke all the teachers settling in their seats were looking at the two of them with a good measure of amazement.  
  
Snape felt fury rise in his chest climbing into his throat and swallowed hard to keep it down. When he spoke again his voice remained soft and silky but rippled with anger.  
  
"Professor, I do not know you. And I am not interested in how you know of me." That was a lie. He wanted to know how she had the gumption to speak to him like that very much. He saw her mouth open to retaliate but Dumbledor interrupted them.  
  
"My friends, the students are here. We should all be finding our seats."   
  
Alathea cast a indignant look in Snapes direction and then sat down. He sat next to her but turned in the opposite direction so he wouldn't have to look at her main of auburn hair. Students filed in through the doors finding friends and sitting down. He saw his Slytherin pupils walk in one small group at a time. He looked to the opposite side of the hall to where the Gryffindor table stood. Yes, there he was. Harry Potter with his ever faithful sidekick Weasly and that stupid girl with the ugly hair. God, how he disliked them. Thinking they were so superior to all the others. As he thought of all the unpleasant things he would like to do them he felt his anger radiating from him in waves. He pulled down his hands from the table and grasped his robes with them, trying to regain control. He then made the mistake of glancing Alathea's way once more. She had been staring at him the entire time. He sensed more than heard the petter patter of a hundred or so new first years walking up to the front of the hall. McGonagall started calling forth the children to be sorted. The ridiculous American was smiling at him again, as if nothing had happened. He turned to watch the first student to reach the sorting hat. That hat had sat on her head a split second before shouting out, "Slytherin!" She looked slightly shocked and when she stood up she looked at the hat as if asking if that was it's idea of a joke. She was shooed to her table and didn't seem to appreciate the shouts and applause that followed her.  
  
"Smart girl, that one, huh?"Snape was disturbed that Alathea was addressing him again, and in the middle of the Sorting Ceremony no less.  
  
"She was accepted into the house of Slytherin, of course she is intelligent." **What is wrong with this woman?**  
  
Alathea gave Severes a startled look and then gave a soft laugh. "I forgot you were the head of that house. But what I meant was she was smart to not want to be there. Surely you could tell she was not pleased about where she was placed?"  
  
Student after student walked forward, many of them with their shoulders squared, trying to look brave.  
  
"If she would not be happy in Slytherin then she would not have been placed there." He paused as a sudden thought occurred to him. "How old are you?"  
  
Alathea gave another musical laugh, this time gaining the attention of several of the professors near by. She whispered sorry in their direction and turned back to Snape. "I'm 29. Why? Thinking about asking me out?" When she said this she got a devious twinkle in her eyes and he couldn't help looking into them. Somehow they seemed very much like his.  
  
**Damn this woman! What is she playing at?** Snape glared at her in the way only he could but found it didn't have the effect he had counted on. If anything she smiled more and her eyes became more devious.   
  
" I have no intention of having anything to do with you outside of our responsibility to this school." He meant it. Something wasn't right with her. He could feel her in his mind and knew that here was a force that he could not control or bargain with: an unknown element.   
  
She leaned closer to him. He was seething now, wanting to do nothing other than blast this insane American away before she could touch him. He noticed that there were only 3 students left to be sorted and many of the students in the hall had their curiosity torn between the Sorting and the scene Alathea was creating. The professors attention should be concentrated on the ceremony, not on each other.  
  
She grasped his lower arm where the mark of Voldemort glowed and began to whisper in his ear. "Come on Severes, you can't pretend you can't feel me for much longer. I don't know all your secrets yet, but I will. I would be more than happy to share some of my own if you're interested. Just don't make me mad. You wouldn't like me when I'm mad..." She pulled away from him and as she did he felt something tighten in his heart. Fear perhaps? She let go of him arm and he was aware of his surroundings once more. The Sorting was over and Dumbledor was giving a small welcome back speech. But the attention of the students of Hogwarts was on Snape and Stephens. Severes realized his face felt rather warm and wondered if anyone could tell if his face was flushed. But then the plates and dishes in front of him filled with food and exclamations from the first years sounded in his ears and the whole hall erupted in chatter. Stephen's attention had turned towards Madam Hooch and Snape felt a twinge of relief. He set his mind on other things while eating and waited impatiently for the feast to end. 


End file.
